Category: Independent Schools

A matter of principals: great leaders lead to great schools

If you have ever pondered what it takes to be an excellent school administrator, researchers have now devised a formula for the perfect principal.

As part of their How Principals Affect Schools study, University of Melbourne economists Mike Helal and Michael Coelli rendered the elements of school leadership as a mathematical equation.

The formula seeks to calculate a principal’s impact on a school by accounting for variables such as student quality, socio-economic factors and random events like funding cuts.

The math may be complicated but the formula’s solution is simple. Coelli and Helal conclude that “the most effective principals are able to establish a coherent set of goals for the school’s workforce, to encourage professional interaction among staff, and to promote the professional development of staff.”

While the efforts of individual teachers are of utmost importance, together, these three staff management techniques are more likely to bring about an improvement to students’ academic results because “a high-quality principal can affect outcomes among all students in a school,” the researchers determined.

Dr Coelli told the Canberra Times: “It’s important that new principals are told that if you want to have these effects, particularly on literacy and numeracy, these are the kind of things you need to do,” Dr Coelli said. “Leadership is extremely important.”

This is where independent schools enjoy a distinct advantage. Being autonomous and answerable only to their own board and school community, independent schools are able to offer their principals significant professional latitude.

Principals in independent schools hire their own staff according to their school’s unique criteria to ensure the best fit between students and teachers; they shape a school’s professional development programs in consultation with individual teachers; and they enjoy the flexibility to attract and retain the best candidates from throughout Australia and overseas.

Independent school principals hold a unique managerial role combining the jobs of chief executive, human resources manager and lead educator. They are invested with an immense responsibility but are also directly accountable to schools and stakeholders.

While this may seem like a lot of eggs for just one basket, the independent sector’s emphasis on autonomy and strong leadership is not misplaced.

The 2015 School Autonomy and Student Achievement report had three key findings:

* Higher levels of school autonomy are associated with higher levels of student achievement.

* The focus of autonomy should be on professional practice.

* The most powerful evidence linking school autonomy and student achievement is seen in the work of principals to build professional capacity through staff selection, professional development and appraisal; setting priorities on the basis of data about performance; and communication of purpose, process and performance.

Independent school principals agree.

Robert Phipps, principal of the Hills Grammar School in Sydney’s Northwest wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald last year: “After 40 years of experience as an educator there is no doubt in my mind that teacher quality is the single most important factor impacting student learning and development, with ongoing professional learning being the main determinant of teacher quality. While independent schools will approach staff professional development in different ways they all invest heavily in it because they know it directly improves teaching and thereby the learning outcomes of their students.”

Phillip Heath, head of Barker College, echoes those sentiments, also in the Sydney Morning Herald, saying that is the role of the principal at an independent school “to relentlessly pursue improvements in teaching and learning, to hold people accountable to their best possible selves and to help them achieve their absolute best rather than settle only for what is ‘good enough’.”

Read more:

How Principals Affect Schools – Mike Helal and Michael Coelli, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, June 2016
http://tinyurl.com/j44vat2

The formula for the perfect principal – Henrietta Cook and Craig Butt, Canberra Times, June 2, 2016 http://www.canberratimes.com.au/victoria/the-formula-for-the-perfect-school-principal-20160601-gp96ak.html

School Autonomy and Student Achievement Case Studies in Australia – Professor Emeritus Brian J Caldwell, University of Melbourne. June 11, 2015 http://educationaltransformations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/School-Autonomy-and-Student-Achievement-Australian-Cases.pdf

Professional learning the key – Robert J Phipps, Sydney Morning Herald, March 3, 2015
http://www.smh.com.au/national/non-government-schools/professional-learning-the-key-20150302-13stny.html

The role of principals – Phillip Heath, Sydney Morning Herald, March 3, 2015
http://www.smh.com.au/national/non-government-schools/the-role-of-principals-20150302-13slj3.html

Independent schools offer support for busy parents

At The King’s School in Parramatta, an after-hours program that sees boys staying at school as late as 9pm every evening is proving increasingly popular with parents and students alike.

As part of the school’s “flexible boarding” policy, the Extended Day program offers relief to busy parents by allowing day boys access to boarding facilities after school.

In this safe, supervised environment, students can pursue extra-curricular activities, play sport and get their homework done with the help of overseer teachers. They even have access to shower facilities. With the day’s work accomplished and afternoon tea and a hot dinner provided, the boys are relaxed and well-fed by the time parents collect them in the early evening.

Commuting difficulties on top of long working hours can be very stressful for parents trying to fit everything into overloaded days, particularly when both are working full-time. Flexibility around school pick-up times is a welcome perk for King’s School families. Student participation in the Extended Day program has doubled since its introduction.

King’s School headmaster Dr Timothy Hawkes told the Sydney Morning Herald that growing demand for the program is due to the changing nature of family life.

“The boundaries between that which traditionally operated at home and that which traditionally operated at school are now being dissolved,” Dr Hawkes said.

“Most parents are in a dual income situation. Many might be asset rich, but they are time poor – we can help out in that regard.”

The upside for the boys, said Dr Hawkes, is the opportunity to access extra academic support while developing life skills and independence.

While extensive after-hours supervision of students, especially at the high school level, is still a rarity in Sydney, Kincoppal-Rose Bay, The Scots College in Bellevue Hill and St Joseph’s College at Hunters Hill run similar programs to that at The King’s School.

Another solution for overstretched parents is weekly or casual boarding. Many of Sydney’s boarding schools offer casual and short-stay accommodation to day students.

For older students, occasional boarding offers a number of advantages. It can help them focus harder on their studies free of the distractions of home, allow them to participate more easily in early morning and late evening extra-curricular activities, and help them forge a deeper bond with their fellow students.

Indeed, the demand for weekly boarding is driving a resurgence in boarding numbers throughout the country.

As Australian Boarding Schools’ Association executive director Richard Stokes explained to the Australian Financial Review, the trend for city kids to board during the week is partially a response to the time pressure on families and but also recognition that commuting time can be better spent.

“One of the things that is contributing to more urban boarders is the fact that in our big cities – Melbourne and Sydney and, to a lesser extent, Brisbane – families are really struggling with travel. For a child actively involved in a school’s extra-curricular program, parents might question why their child might spend an hour or more on public transport, travelling to and from school when, in fact, they could live at the school and use that time wisely.”

For more information on out of school care and residential options, parents should contact their school registrar.

Read more:

The private schools where students aren’t picked up until 8pm – Cosima Marriner, Sydney Morning Herald, January 24, 2016
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/there-until-8pm–the-new-school-day-20160122-gmc05s.html

Boarding schools appealing to the city as much as the country – Emily Parkinson, Australian Financial Review, May 6, 2016
http://www.afr.com/news/special-reports/boarding-schools-appealing-to-the-city-as-much-as-the-country-20160503-golmnt

How much homework is the right amount?

Many parents worry that their child is doing too much, or too little, school work at home.

While homework volumes vary considerably from school to school and even teacher to teacher; by secondary school, almost all students are expected to do some homework on a daily or weekly basis.

A 2014 OECD report found that Australian 15-year-olds spend an average of six hours a week on homework. This is slightly more than the international average of five hours per week and significantly less than the 13.8 hours Shanghai’s students allocate to homework every week.

The picture is quite different at Australia’s independent schools though, where 15-year-olds devote an average of nine hours a week to homework.

In NSW, the Department of Education offers guidelines but no set minimum homework requirements, leaving it up to schools to determine their own policies in consultation with parents and teachers.

Nonetheless, the department’s policy is that homework is a “valuable part of schooling” that “allows for practising, extending and consolidating work done in class. Additionally, it establishes habits of study, concentration and self-discipline.”

The Scots College in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs supports the department’s view, saying that its philosophy concerning home learning is premised on three principles:

* Home learning consolidates work in class without being new work.
* Home learning is showed off rather than being assessed.
* Home learning is driven by the student’s interests and needs.

As an example, Scots suggests this daily homework schedule for years 7 and 8:

* 20 minutes of Maths
* 10 minutes of language/instrument practice
* 10 minutes of reading
* Respond to the question “What else do I need to do?”

The last point allows students “an opportunity to expand on their studies, finish incomplete work or try to work through a problem in their studies,” Scots says. As well, the school expects students to dedicate home learning time to each of their subjects every week.

Similar guidelines are offered by Danebank Anglican School for Girls in Sydney’s South. The school’s policy states that, homework “should be appropriate to the student’s skill level and age; interesting, challenging, purposeful, and meaningful in helping students develop their knowledge and skills at all times.”

Taking these factors into account, Danebank outlines a daily homework schedule for years K-12:

Kinder and Year 1: No more than 20 mins
Year 2: No more than 30 mins
Year 3 and 4: 30–45 mins
Year 5 and 6: 1 hour
Year 7 and 8: 1½ hours
Year 9 and 10: 2 hours
Year 11: 3 hours
Year 12: 3½ hours

The emphasis on homework at independent schools is well-founded. OECD data shows that extra study at home is rewarded by better test scores, as evidenced by the results of its 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) – a series of standardised tests similar to NAPLAN.

Testing of more than 28 million 15-year-olds in 65 countries showed that among the highest achieving schools in the Maths component, “students saw an increase of 17 score points or more per extra hour of homework.”

International research shows that relevant homework in reasonable doses has positive benefits for students overall, particularly at the high school level.

In terms of how much time students should put into it, Duke University psychology professor and author of The Battle over Homework, Harris Cooper, endorses the “10-Minute Rule” – multiply the year level by 10 to get a rough estimate of how many minutes of homework students should be doing on a daily basis. Academically-focused and senior students should aim to do a bit more.

Most important though for Cooper is balance.

“My feeling is that the effect of homework depends on how well or poorly it is used. Teachers should avoid extremes. All children will benefit from homework but it is a rare child who will benefit from hours and hours of homework,” Cooper cautions.

Read more:

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Education at Glance report, 2014
https://www.oecd.org/edu/Education-at-a-Glance-2014.pdf

NSW Department of Education and Communities Homework Policy document, May 2012
https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/curriculum/schools/homework/Hwk_Pol_guide.pdf

How much home learning should my son be doing? – Ryan Smartt, Coordinator of Studies and Academic Staffing, The Scots College
https://www.tsc.nsw.edu.au/tscnews/how-much-home-learning-should-my-son-be-doing

Danebank Anglican School for Girls Homework Policy K-12
http://www.danebank.nsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/Homework-Policy.pdf

Students in these countries spend the most time doing homework – Sonali Kohli, Quartz.com, December 12, 2014
http://qz.com/311360/students-in-these-countries-spend-the-most-time-doing-homework/

Homework’s diminishing returns – Harris Cooper, New York Times, December 12, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/12/12/stress-and-the-high-school-student/homeworks-diminishing-returns